Why Shouldn't Taxpayers Be Given the Right To Vote On Spending $50 Million Dollars?

There has been lots of discussion over the last two years about the township's new police-court complex. This has actually been talked about for many years, but the rhetoric has heated up recently.

The police-court building is just one element of Supervisor $kip Maccarone's much larger "campus" complex. Yes, we need a new building for our law enforcement professionals. Need is not the issue here, no matter what $kip tells the newspapers.

The issues are what the building will cost (is it $20 million? $23 million? Is it higher?) and how the township will raise the money to pay for it? It is also prudent to ask if it is wise, given the financial shape of our state, to spend this much money at this time.

A large majority of township residents, and some of our elected Trustees, have insisted that this go to the public for a vote before spending $50 million. Why not? Isn't that what democracy is all about?

Obviously not in $kip Maccarone's Shelby Township. When pressed about putting this to a public vote, $kip says that he never said this should go before the voters. In fact, he challenged anyone to produce evidence that he did.

Okay, we'll take that challenge! Below is an article from the Macomb Daily, the local newspaper for Macomb County, Michigan. Read the last paragraph very carefully.

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SHELBY DEVELOPMENT PUSHED -- BUT IT MAY BE UP TO VOTERS
PUBLISHED: February 5, 2005
By Frank DeFrank, Macomb Daily Staff Writer

Shelby Township Supervisor Ralph Maccarone introduced this week a proposal for a $47.5 million development on the grounds of the municipal complex with a simple theme: "If not now, when?"

The answer could well be, "Never, if the voters don't sign on."

Maccarone unveiled Thursday a proposal for construction of a recreation center, library and auditorium, police station and district court building along with renovations to the Senior Center and municipal building.

The supervisor said the work is the compilation of three and one-half years of input "from several dozen experts, department members, elected officials, both past and present, and a host of residents.

"This work is not intended to be a 'plan,' " Maccarone wrote in his introduction. "It is intended as a beginning point that will encourage discussion that will lead to plan.

"Construction of new and renovation of old township facilities (is) long overdue, and to which our residents, of all interests and ages, are so well entitled."

Township officials, both current and previous, have considered similar projects for years. Maccarone, in fact, produced 15-year-old drawings he inherited when he took office showing the planned development of the township's municipal grounds.

Maccarone said the time is right to move forward with the project to coincide with private development of the Van Dyke corridor from 26 Mile Road to the Utica city limit. By creating a Downtown Development Authority, some of the increased tax revenue generated by the private development can be used to help pay for public improvements, he said.

The supervisor said the township could take advantage of its good bond rating to sell bonds to fund the project. The bonds would be repaid over some 30 years, he said.

"I have a high level of confidence that we don't need a millage (new tax) to do this," he said.

But funding may prove a major sticking point among other elected officials. Several members of the Board of Trustees, while expressing support for such a concept, are reluctant to commit millions of dollars without approval by voters.

Treasurer Paul Viar and Trustee David Kady recently expressed such concerns, and Clerk Terri Kowal added her voice.

"I have said all along we should not spend $40 (million) to $50 million without a vote of the people," Kowal said. "It's too big a burden on the backs of the taxpayers.

"Skip (Maccarone) says, 'If not now, when?' I prefer to do it when the economy comes back. I won't vote for it (without voter approval)."

Maccarone said he has "no problem" submitting the plan to voters in the form of ballot questions, although he reiterated a previous statement when he said: "We were elected to make these kinds of decisions."

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That's how the Macomb Daily reported it.

Since $kip said he had no problem putting this to a vote of the people in February, 2005, what has changed over the last two-and-a-half years? Taxpayers are amused that $kip thinks he was elected to spend this kind of money. Not true $kip! If when you ran you told voters you wanted to be Supervisor so that YOU could decide how to spend an additional $50 million of our tax dollars, on top of the millions you are already spending, you would have been laughed out of the township!

Two years ago, $kip said in the article above that his campus is the result of more than three years of input "from several dozen experts, department members, elected officials, both past and present, and a host of residents." We have since learned that there was NEVER any discussion about his grand "campus" plan prior to his February, 2005 unveiling presentation -- except maybe between $kip and himself.

We strongly agree with residents who have written to us about this topic. Yes, the people's voice should be heard. We love our active-duty township police officers, and they do a commendable job protecting us and responding when the call for help goes out.

The issue is money and who should decide how to spend a projected $23 million dollars (or more). $kip says he should make that decision, and we disagree.

We should DEMAND a public vote on $kip's campus project. Anything less is a disservice to township taxpayers!

$kip seems unwilling to budge on taking this to a vote of the people. Why? What does he have to hide? This is precisely why people don't trust $kip any more.

Considering the way $kip has spent our money since being elected, and his plan to spend $50 million more, we may have to eventually change the official Shelby Township logo. After all, $kip seems to think money does grow on trees.

Remember, send your e-mails to stopskip08@aol.com. Together, we will have an impact and taxpayers WILL take our township back.